Driving In America

Driving In America

In our modern world, driving is one of the most common and useful skills for people living in America. Driving is how we get around quickly, how we move things from one place to another or even entertainment. But throughout our country there are hundreds of thousands of auto accidents each year ranging from minor to fatal. Driver’s Ed seeks to lower this number by giving people the skills they need to safely operate a vehicle on the road. This is crucial because without proper teaching, a defined set of rules for the road means nothing if no one knows what the rules are. Without knowledge of the rules, people could just make up their own rules that seem logical to them but could be completely different from another driver on the road. With that many drivers that aren’t following the same rules, the risk of crashing grows dramatically. That is why Driver’s Ed is so important, so that everyone is following the same rules that they were all taught in the early stages of driving. By following the same rules, we can lower the risk of crashing and therefore the risk of death as a result of auto accidents.

Reducing the number of deaths on the road doesn’t just come down to Driver’s Ed, there are many other factors that could play a role in the cause of an accident. Advanced age is one example. When people get older, their cognitive functions slow, their fine motor skills are deteriorated and senses like vision are greatly impaired. All these combined make elderly people a risk to everyone on the road, not just themselves. Making it so that people over the age of 65 have to renew their license every 5 years would be a good way of getting people off the road that aren’t able to operate a vehicle safely. This would mean not just vision and knowledge tests, but also a full drivers test like someone would have to take when they first get their license. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is another big contributor to auto accidents in America, even though it is illegal and carries a jail sentence or other punishment if convicted. To reduce the chance that someone could be driving while impaired, it could be made mandatory that all vehicles have a Breathalyzer device and a MobileTrace Narcotics device. One would have to be under the BrAC limit and have no illegal drugs in their system to start the vehicle. This would make it near impossible to operate a vehicle while impaired, thus reducing the risk of causing an accident.

I personally have experienced a car accident but I have had a relative and a friend be seriously injured in car accidents. The friend’s car crash actually happened very recently, about 1 week before I am writing this essay. He and his family were driving back from the Oregon coast on a two lane road when they got into a head on collision with another car. At this time it is unknown how the crash happened though most likely one of the involved cars drifted out of their lane. Right now my friend has been released from the hospital with a cracked sternum and his sister with a concussion. His mom and dad are still in the hospital, the dad being in critical condition. He suffered serious head trauma and is in a coma, but is responsive to external stimuli, so that is good news. His mom had to have back surgery because her spine and pelvis became detached. She is unable to use her right arm and leg but the doctors say there will be a full recovery, just over many months. We are hoping for a full recovery by all family members. The previously mentioned relative that was in a car accident is my Grandpa. A couple years ago he was riding his recumbent bike on the side of the road when he was struck by a car. The driver of the car was using her phone at the time of the accident and was distracted. Because of this and the fact that the bike was lower to the ground than a normal bike, the driver did not notice that she had hit anything and drove for several miles before finally realizing what had happened. A witness called 911 and he was airlifted to a hospital where he had to have his left arm removed. Because he didn’t have a lot of money and the surgery was expensive, our family had to chip in so that he could have a prosthetic and get the right medical care. Now he lives everyday missing his arm because the driver wasn’t paying attention and using her phone while driving.

Some steps I can take, and already do, to become a safer driver are to put my phone on silent while I am driving and to practice Defensive Driving. This means I am always vigilant to the cars around me and aware of any sudden moves they may make. Thinking that you are the only good driver on the road and everyone else is going to do something stupid is a great way to stay focused and to always be watching for the cars around you. To help others be safer on the road, I would say to do exactly the steps I just described. Putting your phone on silent reduces the distraction if a text comes through so the phone doesn’t buzz and you aren’t inclined to look at the phone instead of the road. In driving academies taught by former law enforcement, Defensive Driving is the number one thing they teach and their number one priority.

Overall, to reduce the risk of auto accidents and auto related deaths a conscious effort is required for all drivers to be more focused and attentive while operating a vehicle while also following the rules of the road. This includes driving under the influence and driving while distracted by your phone.